Author: sadiesegovia

I always find myself trailing behind the rest of the class, whether this be on hikes or walks to get gelato. I can’t help but be intrigued with everything I see… On the hike to the town of Oia, I gaze up and see the other ten of my classmates scribbling in their notebooks. Some students are frantically writing down everything my professor says, others are writing while carrying on side conversations about what they see. As for me, I step back and peer around the rim of the caldera. It wasn’t until this moment when I thought, “When will there be another volcanic eruption in Santorini?”

It’s Monday, November 30th, 2015, 11:30 am. Today is the day I will be learning about a topic I have anticipated since the beginning of Geologic Disasters. I will be learning all about rivers and flooding! Sitting in class I hear moans and groans about this. A lesson that seems so tedious and dull to my classmates was actually fascinating and thrilling to myself. I was finally going to learn about a topic I could personally connect with.

Upon arriving at the port of Santorini on the ferry, I look up noticing ridged layers of tan, brown, and beige blanketing each other into mountainous volcanoes. Each hue and layer tells a different story of formation, magnitude, and volcanic material present during the eruption. Every layer is unique in that no layer is like any other. Some are supported by ash and pumice, while others are completely supported by lava flows. I was thrilled to undertake this new adventure at such a young age, but there is a daunting feeling in the back of my mind to know that when this caldera erupts once again, nothing that we know of it will remain.